04/12/2014

Don't look now, but Kasich's getting kudos from environmentalists

Either the Ohio Environmental Council doesn't hate Gov. John Kasich nearly as much as people think it does - or Kasich hasn't been the complete and utter disaster on public health and environmental issues that his critics claimed he would be when he took office on Jan. 10, 2011.

Let me stop right there and emphatically make this point: This is not, in any way, to be construed as an endorsement, tacit or otherwise.

But something weird's happening to my email account.

A computer virus, perhaps, one that rewrites press releases.

Or, as far as I know, there could be a gentle breeze wafting through Columbus now, causing a shift in Ohio's political winds and inspiring acerbic pundits to speculate about any and all kinds of posturing and deal-brokering that occurs during a gubernatorial campaign.

But the tone of at least six press releases the Ohio Environmental Council has sent reporters since January is a departure from the norm.

They praise Kasich.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

Consider the headline of the most recent one, sent out on Friday: "OEC praises Kasich, ODNR for new fracking controls."

The release begins with this sentence: "The Ohio Department of Natural Resources sent shock waves across the nation today when it concluded that the fracturing, or "fracking" of a horizontal gas well last month in Poland Township near Youngstown may have caused a series of small earthquakes nearby."

It goes on to praise the Kasich administration for doing the right thing, by erring on the side of caution and ordering new drilling operations to deploy sensitive seismic monitors in areas of Ohio with known faults or past seismic activity. Unbeknownst to many people, Ohio gets its share of small, barely noticeable earthquakes.

One might shrug off that latest release as an anomaly.

But consider these, too:

April 4: "What you can't see can hurt you. That's why the Ohio Environmental Council is praising the Kasich administration for new state controls announced today to stop the leak of 'fugitive' air emissions from oil and gas well," the first sentence of an OEC press release said.

March 19: A headline to a joint press release, issued by the OEC, reads as follows: "Eco leaders praise Gov. Kasich for 'major league leadership' for land and water conservation." The release, with logos on the front by the Ohio Environmental Council, the Nature Conservancy, the Ohio League of Conservation Voters, and the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association, praises Kasich for urging lawmakers to include $100 million in the state's next biennial budget for the Clean Ohio Fund, $75 million of which will go to acquire open space and parkland. Half of the remaining $25 million is for new recreational and bicycle trails; the other $12.5 million is to match dollars raised locally for other recreation and conservation projects. Kasich also got kudos for dedicating $10 million to seek out alternatives to open-lake disposal of dredged silt, as part of the Healthy Lake Erie Initiative.

Feb. 11: "OEC praises definitive response of ODNR and OEPA to oil and gas waste dumping," the headline of an Ohio Environmental Council press release states. In the first sentence, the council said it is "praising the decisive response of the Kasich administration to the illegal dumping of an estimated 30,000 gallons of oil and gas drilling waste water into a storm sewer that drains to the Mahoning River near Youngstown." It goes on to state the Ohio DNR ordered the "immediate and permanent revocation" of the operating permits of a Youngstown company connected to the events. Melanie Houston, the council's water policy and environmental health director, is quoted as lauding Kasich for sticking to his promise to "not tolerate any illegal activity by the oil and gas industry, such as this shameless and blatant event."

Jan. 16: The Ohio Environmental Council said in a release it was "praising the agriculture industry and the administration of Ohio Governor John Kasich for their actions to encourage more responsible use of fertilizer and manure in farming."

What makes this sudden love fest between the Ohio Environmental Council and the Kasich administration noteworthy is the contentious relationship they used to have.

Remember those seemingly endless negotiations over Ohio's rules for implementing the Great Lakes water resources compact - an unprecedented show of unity the Great Lakes states finally took in an attempt to keep this basin's water from being transported to other parts of the world?

It darn near unraveled because of Ohio's politicking.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, as well as conservatives who took a hard line on property rights, had Kasich's ear.

Two former Ohio Republican governors, Bob Taft and George Voinovich, joined environmentalists in calling upon Kasich to be more reasonable.

Many of the negotiations ultimately came down to a political tug-o-war between the Ohio Environmental Council and Kasich's office, which seemed determined not to bend too much for environmentalists.

There were unmistakable tones of frustration in the voice of Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols on several occasions as he reached into his bag of sound bytes and regularly accused pesky Ohio Environmental Council lobbyists of constantly "moving the goalposts," i.e. lobbying hard for the best deal they could get.

It's not a stretch to say the Ohio Environmental Council and Kasich's office have been engaged in a cat-and-mouse game since Kasich took office - and that they probably always will.

Except that for now - for whatever reason - the mouse is praising the cat.

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"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." - Henry David Thoreau

About Ripple Effect

Every pollution battle ultimately comes down to mankind's desire to better itself while protecting its sense of home. In this blog, Blade Staff Writer Tom Henry looks at how Great Lakes energy-environmental issues have a ripple effect on our public health, our natural resources, our economy, our psychological well-being, and our homespun pride.

About Tom Henry

Tom Henry is an award-winning journalist who has covered primarily energy and environmental issues the past two decades. He is a member of the national Society of Environmental Journalists, one of North America's largest journalism groups.